In this section

BOWER CHALKE

Bower Chalke c. 1790

The lands of Bower Chalke, 15 km. WSW. of
Salisbury, (fn. 1) were part of an estate called Chalke,
granted to Wilton abbey in the 10th century, and
perhaps also of a large parish called Chalke, served
from Broad Chalke church in the 11th century. (fn. 2)
The name Bower Chalke, apparently given to that
part of the Chalke estate where lands were in 'bower
hold' tenure, (fn. 3) and the fact that, unlike its neighbours in the Ebble valley, it has land on only one
side of the river suggest that Bower Chalke was a late
offshoot from Broad Chalke. Bower Chalke had become a separate parish by the early 14th century; a
church was built there c. 1300. (fn. 4) In 1885 the southern
part of Fifield Bavant, a narrow strip of land running
the length of Bower Chalke's western boundary
and comprising 283 a., was transferred to Bower
Chalke, (fn. 5) increasing its area to 1,319 ha. (3,260 a.).
The parish was and is wedge-shaped, broadening
from 1.5 km. in the north to 4.5 km. in the south.
Its southern boundary, the southern boundary of
Wilton abbey's estate and Wiltshire's boundary with
Dorset, had possibly been established by the 10th
century and was described in the late 11th. (fn. 6) Its
northern boundary lies approximately parallel with
and 50–100 m. south of the Ebble and so excludes
the meadow land beside the river, perhaps because
that beside the tributary flowing north from Bower
Chalke village was sufficient for the parish or because
Fifield Bavant had early established rights over
meadows south of the river. The eastern boundary
followed the tributary for 500 m., and the western,
before 1885, roughly followed a dry valley in the
north and ridges in the centre and south. Bower
Chalke village and the extremities of it called Mead
End, Woodminton, and Misselfore lie within the
parish.

The ridge which forms the watershed between the
Ebble and other tributaries of the Christchurch
Avon extends east and west across the parish. North
of the ridge the land, much of it below 137 m.,
slopes gently to the Ebble and its tributary. Chalk
outcrops over most of the parish, but west of the
tributary Upper Greensand outcrops. Heights above
200 m. are reached on the ridge, and on Marleycombe Hill the chalk is covered by clay. South of the
ridge the land again slopes more gently, to below
122 m. in a gravel-lined valley on the boundary with
Dorset. (fn. 7)

Evidence of prehistoric activity has been found in
the parish south of the ridge. Groups of barrows
stand on Marleycombe Hill and on Woodminton
Down, where some 50 burials of the late Bronze Age
have been identified. Part of Grim's ditch, which
may date from the same period, runs along or parallel
with the parish boundary for 1 km. south-west of
Cobley Lodge. Other ditches, probably associated
with Grim's ditch, run approximately north and
south, and another winds for 250 m. across Marleycombe Hill. A field system of 28 ha. is east of the
burial sites on Woodminton Down, and one of 53 ha.
is on Marleycombe Hill. South-west of Marleycombe Hill there may have been settlement in the
Iron Age. (fn. 8)

In historic times most of Bower Chalke's arable
lay north of the ridge. There were meadows beside
the stream, some of which were converted to watercress beds in the late 19th century and the 20th. The
downs in the centre of the parish provided common
pasture for sheep. South of the ridge the land was
heavily wooded until the 19th century. (fn. 9)

Ox Drove, an ancient ridge way, runs east and
west across the parish and is metalled only on Woodminton Down. No major modern route runs through
the parish; in the late 18th century and probably
earlier the principal road ran south-west from Broad
Chalke along the tributary valley, through Bower
Chalke village and Woodminton, and across the
downs to Sixpenny Handley (Dors.). Another road
led north-west and south-east, linking the roads
beside the Ebble north of the parish and from Salisbury to Blandford Forum (Dors.). south of it. (fn. 10)
Following inclosure in 1792 and in the early 19th
century the linking road followed a straight course
west of Bower Chalke village. (fn. 11) Earlier and later it
ran further east, along Quidham Street. (fn. 12) The
western route was a path in the late 20th century.
Roads which in the late 18th century ran from the
village north to Fifield Bavant and west to Ebbesborne Wake (fn. 13) were unmetalled tracks in 1984. In the
late 19th century roads were made parallel with Ox
Drove and with the Broad Chalke to Sixpenny
Handley road to serve new farmsteads near the
parish's southern boundary. South of Marleycombe
Hill a road leading south-east from the parish was
then diverted westward along the boundary to serve
East Chase Farm. (fn. 14)

From the 13th century the lord of Cranborne
Chase claimed rights of chase and the right to exercise some forest laws in Bower Chalke, as in other
parishes within the chase's outer bounds. The claims
were at times resisted. In 1250 the abbess of Wilton,
as lord of Chalke manor, alleged that she had been
denied the exercise of her rights within her wood
called Chettle, in the southern part of Bower Chalke
parish. In 1275 it was said that the lord of the chase
had then only recently begun to exercise forest law
within the wood, and in 1279 it was recommended
that the exercise of such law there should cease. (fn. 15) In
the 16th century and the early 17th, however, the
woodward of Bower Chalke, an officer either of the
chase or of Chalke manor, presented inhabitants of
Bower Chalke at chase courts for offences which included grazing sheep and pigs in woods subject to
chase laws. (fn. 16) Much of the parish apparently lay within that part of the chase called Cobley walk. A lodge
for the keeper of the walk lay near the parish's
southern boundary until the early 19th century, and
was replaced soon afterwards by Cutler's Cottages. (fn. 17)
The parish's south-eastern corner was in Vernditch
walk, which was sold in 1620 by the lord of the chase,
William Cecil, earl of Salisbury, to William Herbert,
earl of Pembroke, the owner of the land. In the late
18th century George Pitt, Lord Rivers, lord of the
chase, claimed rights of chase on Cow down, in the
south-eastern corner; his claims were resisted,
apparently successfully, by Henry, earl of Pembroke
and Montgomery. (fn. 18) On the disfranchisement of the
chase in 1829, its lord received compensation for
rights over only 147 a. in Bower Chalke. (fn. 19)

Bower Chalke was assessed for taxation at 90s. in
1334, the highest figure for a single tithing in the
hundred, (fn. 20) and in 1377 there were 153 poll-tax
payers. (fn. 21) It was again assessed for taxation at a figure
above the average for the hundred in the late 16th
century. (fn. 22) The population increased steadily from
320 in 1801 to 509 in 1851. Numbers fell thereafter,
with some fluctuations. In 1951 the population was
379. (fn. 23) It had risen to 392 by 1971, (fn. 24) but in 1981 was
322. (fn. 25)

Bower Chalke village is on the Upper Greensand
in a valley which runs into that of the boundary
stream. The main street, called Church Street, is
part of the road from Broad Chalke to Sixpenny
Handley. In the late 18th century, as in the 20th,
there were also houses and farmsteads along Back
Lane, part of the Ebbesborne Wake road, and along
Quidham Street and Coster's Lane which linked
Back Lane and Church Street near the south-west
and north-east ends of the village respectively. (fn. 26) The
village had presumably grown up along Church
Street before the church was built at what in the
early 14th century may have been the settlement's
south-west end. In the street several substantial
stone farmhouses of 17th- or 18th-century origin
survive. Two stand at the north-eastern end. Buddens, west of the street, is a 17th-century house of
two storeys: its lower brick extension may have been
a separate building before it was linked with the
house in the 19th century. Bingham's Farm, east of
the street, is also of 17th-century origin. (fn. 27) Another
stone house, of slightly earlier date and of formal
design, was perhaps used as a beerhouse from 1855, (fn. 28)
was known in 1886 and 1900 as Grove Cottage, (fn. 29) but
from c. 1918 was called the Bell inn. (fn. 30) Laws Farm,
an ashlar and rubble house south-west of Buddens,
and a large house west of the junction of Church
Street and Coster's Lane, were probably built in the
18th century. Smaller houses and cottages of the
17th and 18th centuries also survive; many are
thatched. The first settlement in Quidham Street
may have been in the 17th century: several singlestoreyed stone and thatch cottages, extended mainly
in brick, survive from then. Houses were built between the church and the junction of Church Street
and Quidham Street c. 1810, (fn. 31) but most 19th-century
building was infilling or replacement in older parts
of the village. A farmstead south of Back Lane was
replaced by Rookhaye Farm; the brick house was
built c. 1830, and it was extended and brick and flint
farm buildings were erected shortly afterwards. New
building in Church Street in the mid and late 19th
century included nonconformist chapels, at the
junction with Quidham Street and north of the
church, and a vicarage house and a school, respectively south and north-west of the church. At about
the same time farmsteads in the street were replaced
by new buildings outside the village. (fn. 32) Further infilling took place in the 20th century. At the southwest end of the village private houses were built
north-west of Church Street in the 1920s and 1930s,
and council houses south-east of it in the 1950s.
Private houses and private and council bungalows
were built further north and beside Coster's Lane in
the later 20th century. Knowle Farm, a late 19th century house with extensive farm buildings south
of Bingham's Farm, is part of the village but in
Broad Chalke parish.

Mead End, on the chalk north of Bower Chalke
village, comprised two or three houses west of the
Broad Chalke to Sixpenny Handley road in the late
18th century and the early 19th. (fn. 33) Houses had been
built east of the road by 1842, (fn. 34) and bungalows were
added east and west of it in the 20th century.

Woodminton, south-west of the village beside a
lane leading north-west from the Sixpenny Handley
road, was a group of five or more houses or cottages
in the mid 16th century. (fn. 35) In the late 18th century
both the lane and the settlement were called Woodminton. (fn. 36) Thatched cottages, then standing, survive
at the junction of the road and the lane. Other buildings were replaced by houses of the 19th and 20th
centuries, scattered along the road and the lane. A
farmstead, of brick and flint, was built at the northwest end of the lane in the mid 19th century.

The stone and thatch cottage at the road junction
600 m. south-west of the church was standing in
1773. (fn. 37) By 1842 several more cottages had been
built south of it, (fn. 38) one bearing the date 1840. The
settlement has been called Misselfore since the early
19th century. (fn. 39) In the late 19th century and the early
20th houses west of the junction on the south side of
the Sixpenny Handley road were called Castle. (fn. 40)

Apart from Cobley Lodge and its successors there
was no house in the southern part of the parish until
the mid 19th century when three farmsteads, Middle
Chase, Middle Chase Buildings, and East Chase,
were built near the southern boundary. (fn. 41) The farmsteads incorporated, like Rookhaye Farm and Woodminton Farm built about the same time, extensive
farm buildings with much flint and red-brick walling. Middle Chase Farm is approached from the
north on the road to Sixpenny Handley through an
avenue, 500 m. long, of beeches contemporary with
the farmstead. A new house and bungalow were
built near the farmstead in the 20th century.

Manors and other Estates.

Bower
Chalke lay within the estate of 100 mansiunculae
(small dwellings) called Chalke granted by King
Edwy to the nuns of Wilton in 955. (fn. 42) In the early
13th century CHALKE manor apparently included
nearly all the land there and much of Broad Chalke
parish. (fn. 43) It passed from Wilton abbey to the Crown
at the Dissolution, and in 1542 was granted by the
name of Chalke and Broad Chalke manors to Sir
William Herbert and his wife Anne for their lives. (fn. 44)
In 1544 the estate was granted in tail male to
Herbert (fn. 45) (cr. earl of Pembroke in 1551, d. 1570).
The manor's lands in Bower Chalke passed with the
Pembroke title to Reginald, earl of Pembroke and
Montgomery, (fn. 46) who sold them in 1919. Manor farm,
525 a., was then sold to C. J. S. Harding and by him
to John Beckley (d. 1966), who was succeeded by his
son Mr. J. H. Beckley, the owner in 1984. (fn. 47) Rookhaye farm, 520 a., and East Chase farm, 330 a., were
bought in 1919 by J. H. Butler, and in 1936 were
conveyed to A. H. Rawle. In 1961 the farms passed
to Rawle's son Mr. J. W. E. Rawle, who owned them
in 1984. (fn. 48) Middle Chase farm, c. 450 a., and Stonedown Wood, including 244 a. in Bower Chalke, were
sold together in 1919 to a Mr. Ingle, (fn. 49) and were
bought in 1920 by Marsh Bros. In 1937 the farm
was sold to Thomas Brodie (d. 1983), whose son Mr.
M. Brodie owned it in 1984, (fn. 50) and the wood to the
Forestry Commission, the owner in 1984. (fn. 51) Woodminton farm, c. 500 a., was bought in or after 1919
by a Mr. Bailey, (fn. 52) who sold it soon afterwards to
H. J. Barter and Philip Thome. Barter bought
Thome's interest in the farm in the 1920s. He was
succeeded after 1939 by his son Frank, on whose
death in 1976 the farm was divided; c. 300 a. were
sold to Mr. David Coward and added to West Chase
farm in Ebbesborne Wake, (fn. 53) and the remainder,
c. 220 a. still known as Woodminton farm, was
bought in 1978 by Mr. R. B. Kennard, the owner in
1984. (fn. 54) Middle Chase Buildings farm, 120 a., was
sold in 1919 to W. P. Golden. (fn. 55) It passed in turn to
his sons W. J. and H. J. Golden, who held the farm
jointly, and to his grandson Mr. W. J. Golden, who
owned it in 1984. (fn. 56)

Rectorial tithes and land in Bower Chalke, probably held by Wilton abbey in the mid 13th century, (fn. 57)
were apparently part of the endowment of Chalke
prebend in the conventual church in 1298. (fn. 58) The
abbey in 1448 conveyed to Henry VI the presentation to the prebend, and the king used it to endow
King's College, Cambridge, which in the same year
was licensed to appropriate Bower Chalke church
with the rectorial tithes and glebe there. (fn. 59) The
appropriation took place in 1449. (fn. 60) The college held
c. 30 a. in Bower Chalke in 1575, (fn. 61) and c. 20 a. in
1792 (fn. 62) and 1842. (fn. 63) The lands were sold in 1921. (fn. 64)
The tithes were valued at £352 and commuted in
1842. (fn. 65)

Lands in Bower Chalke were settled in 1199–1200
on Richard of Calstone (fn. 66) (d. in or before 1237). (fn. 67)
Walter of Calstone's heirs held the estate of Wilton
abbey in 1242–3, (fn. 68) and by 1273 it had passed to
Roger of.Calstone who then granted it to John
Everard. (fn. 69) John Cole granted it to Roger Pychard
and his wife Margery for their lives in 1378. (fn. 70) The
estate may have been the later BINGHAM'S farm,
which passed from Robert Bingham (d. 1431) (fn. 71) to his
son Richard (d. 1482). (fn. 72) Richard was succeeded in
turn by his son Robert (d. 1524) and by Robert's son
Robert (d. 1561), (fn. 73) but c. 1553 John Bingham was
said to hold the farm. (fn. 74) It passed to Robert, son of
Robert (d. 1561), (fn. 75) who conveyed it to his son
Thomas in or before 1590. (fn. 76) In 1632 Thomas's
nephew Richard Bingham held it. (fn. 77) Richard (d.
1656) was succeeded in turn by his son John (d.
1673) and nephew Richard Bingham (d. 1735).
Thereafter the farm passed, from father to son, to
Richard Bingham (d. 1755), Richard (d. 1823), and
Richard (d. 1829), whose relict Priscilla Bingham
held it in 1846. (fn. 78) On her death Bingham's passed to
Richard Bingham, her husband's nephew, (fn. 79) and was
sold by him or another after 1860. (fn. 80) In 1903 it was
sold by the executors of William Taunton, (fn. 81) perhaps
to R. W. Williamson who owned the farm, 150 a.,
in 1910. (fn. 82) Thereafter it passed with Knowle farm in
Broad Chalke to Mr. D. Mann. (fn. 83)

Bingham's Farm, built of stone in the 17th century, was altered in the 18th to a symmetrical plan
with a central western entrance and gable stacks; an
eastern service wing was added later. Beside the
house, a barn bears the date 1668.

Lands said to be in Woodminton were held with
the office of forester of the abbess of Wilton's wood
called Chettle, (fn. 84) perhaps by William Foster c. 1255,
and later by his son Henry. (fn. 85) An estate, which included the forester's lands and was later called
BURLEY'S, was held freely of Chalke manor by
William Burley c. 1553. (fn. 86) William (d. 1593) (fn. 87) devised
it to his nieces Mary, wife of Thomas Lane the elder,
and Bridget, wife of Thomas Lane the younger, and
to Richard and Anne Hinton and Elizabeth W'ells,
presumably also his kin. (fn. 88) In 1613 William's devisees
or their successors sold the estate to Thomas
Clarke, (fn. 89) who in 1628 settled it on his son Thomas (fn. 90)
(fl. 1632). (fn. 91) Charles Clarke may have held the estate
c. 1756; (fn. 92) Henry Rebbeck held it in 1789. (fn. 93) Rebbeck
was succeeded c. 1825 by a Mrs. Powell, and she c.
1828 by Alexander Powell (fn. 94) (fl. 1860). (fn. 95) Powell's
holding was probably the farm of c. 150 a. owned in
1910 by John Targett. (fn. 96) In or before 1929 Targett
sold c. 100 a. to H. J. Butler; (fn. 97) that land was absorbed by Woodminton farm.

Simon Wyther conveyed lands in Bower Chalke
to John le Wafre and his wife Isabel in 1267. (fn. 98)
Wyther also granted a messuage and 34 a. there to
John de Heydore and his wife Emme; the lands were
returned to him in 1295 in exchange for a messuage,
48 a., and 20s. rent also in Bower Chalke. (fn. 99) In 1317,
when Emme, probably Heydore's relict, held an
estate in Bower Chalke with her husband John
Carpenter for life, John de Heydore, possibly her
son, granted the reversion to William of Tilshead. (fn. 100)
An estate formerly TILSHEAD'S was held c. 1553
by Thomas Gawen (fn. 101) (d. c. 1558). It passed in turn to
Thomas's son William (d. 1559) and William's son
Thomas, who held it in 1590. (fn. 102) In 1705 it was held
by Robert Short. (fn. 103) The estate was perhaps that held
in 1780 by John Rebbeck (d. in or before 1820), and
in 1831 by another John Rebbeck (fn. 104) (fl. 1860). (fn. 105) The
lands, c. 70 a., were owned by H. J. Butler in 1910, (fn. 106)
and by 1929 had been dispersed. (fn. 107)

The 1 knight's fee in Chalke held by Robert
Maskerel and others in 1242–3 is noticed below. (fn. 108)

Economic History.

Nearly all the land of
Bower Chalke was held by customary and free
tenants of Chalke manor; no demesne arable or
pasture of the manor lay within the parish. In 1225
the land was held by 39 tenants. Between them they
held stock including 102 oxen, 63 cows, and 944
sheep. The largest flock was of 81 sheep; four tenants
had 50 or more sheep each. (fn. 109) Services owed by customary tenants of the manor with lands in Bower
Chalke were recorded in the mid 16th century but
had presumably been commuted before then. They
included washing and shearing sheep, ploughing,
harrowing, providing seed corn and sowing it, and
reaping and mowing. Some 10 yardlands were
'bower hold'; in addition to the usual rents and services the tenants paid grain rents and were required
on leaving their holdings to provide for their successors grain, straw, and money. The tenant of 2
yardlands so held was, for example, to pay his
successor 26s. 6d. The tenant of 2 yardlands of
'wetherboodehold' was to provide hurdles when the
demesne flock was washed and sheared. (fn. 110)

In 1567 there were four open fields, named after
the points of the compass; North, South, and West
fields were each of c. 250 a., East field was c. 180 a.
There were 600 a. of common pasture on the downs.
The 21 copyholders, including two cottagers, held
between them some 44 yardlands, including c. 900 a.
of arable with pasture for c. 2,800 sheep; 60 a., in
small closes, were probably meadow land. They also
held a total of 98 a. of 'bourdland'. The average
holding, c. 45 a. of arable with pasture for 130 sheep,
was large. Five copyholds, a total of 13¾ yardlands,
were based at Woodminton but the tenants apparently worked lands and had pasture rights with those
of other tenants in the parish. (fn. 111) The number and
size of copyholds had changed little by 1631; only
two, of 4¼ yardlands and 3 yardlands, were then
based at Woodminton. (fn. 112)

The largest freehold in the parish was what became Bingham's farm, said in 1273 and 1378 to
comprise 1 hide. (fn. 113) In 1567 it was of 120 a. with
pasture for 200 sheep. (fn. 114) Tilshead's was said to include 2 yardlands in 1317 (fn. 115) and the 16th century. (fn. 116)
William Burley's freehold comprised 2½ yardlands
in 1567, (fn. 117) and in 1593 that farm included c. 60 a. of
arable. (fn. 118)

By the early 18th century some copyholds had
been converted to leaseholds. In 1705 three leaseholders held between them c. 150 a. of arable with
pasture for 450 sheep; of 11 copyholders who then
shared 34½ yardlands, three held 4 or more each. (fn. 119)
Of a total of c. 1,600 a. held of the manor in 1789,
some 1,350 a. were held by 8 tenants, whether by
lease or copy is not known. Approximately half the
land was arable, half pasture. One holding, of c.
250 a., included c. 120 a. of several pasture on the
downs. (fn. 120)

By an award of 1792, under an Act of 1785, the
open fields, east and west of the village, and most of
the common pastures, in the centre and south of the
parish, were inclosed. Allotments were made of
2,576 a. Henry Herbert, earl of Pembroke and
Montgomery, lord of Chalke manor, was allotted
2,200 a., including the largest single allotment, 850 a.
of woodland south of Ox Drove, and allotments for
his lessees and copyholders, none of which was more
than 250 a. Allotments were made of 133 a. for
Bingham's, 74 a. for Burley's, and 61 a. for the
former Tilshead's. The Cow down, c. 100 a. south
of Marleycombe Hill, was not inclosed; it remained
open to tenants of the manor in summer, and in
winter two thirds were grazed by a tenant of the
manor and a third by the occupier of Bingham's
farm. (fn. 121)

In 1842 the parish comprised c. 1,000 a. of arable,
c. 850 a. each of downland pasture and woodland,
and c. 120 a. of meadow. There were seven farms of
100 a. or more, four of between 20 a. and 100 a.
The largest, Quidham Street, later Manor, farm, was
of 457 a. That farm, Rookhaye farm, 287 a., Bingham's, 145 a., and a farm of 122 a. were worked
from farmsteads in the village. The farm formerly
William Burley's, 109 a., and others of 257 a. and
246 a. were worked from Woodminton; the same
tenant held that of 246 a. and Quidham Street
farm. (fn. 122) In 1860, under an Act of 1845, new divisions
were made of c. 1,100 a., chiefly in the south part of
the parish. The Cow down was then inclosed. (fn. 123) Soon
afterwards most woodland, except that in the southwest corner, was cleared and three new farmsteads
were built, Middle Chase, 1.5 km. south of Woodminton, and Middle Chase Buildings and East
Chase, 500 m. and 1 km. north-east of Middle Chase
respectively. (fn. 124)

Rookhaye, Manor, Woodminton, and Middle
Chase were farms of 450–550 a. in the early 20th
century. East Chase then measured c. 350 a. (fn. 125) and
there were two smaller farms, Middle Chase Buildings, 120 a., and Bingham's, c. 150 a. (fn. 126) There were
dairies on Rookhaye, Manor, and Middle Chase
Buildings farms, and sheep were kept on Rookhaye
and Bingham's. Most of the farms, however, were
then, as in the late 20th century, chiefly arable. (fn. 127)
Dairying ceased on Manor and Middle Chase Buildings farms in the 1960s. Middle Chase Buildings was
thereafter an arable farm; on Manor farm some
pasture was retained on which cattle were reared for
beef. (fn. 128) From 1919 Rookhaye and East Chase farms
were worked together. Sheep, pigs, poultry, and
dairy cattle were kept and cereals were grown. After
1945 they were mainly arable and dairy farms. In
1984, on the combined farms, cereals were grown on
over 400 a., there was a dairy herd of 140 cows, and
cattle were also reared for beef. (fn. 129) From the 1920s
Woodminton was principally a stock farm on which
sheep and cattle were kept and corn was grown.
After 1976 some 300 a. were worked with lands in
Ebbesborne Wake; (fn. 130) the remainder became a mixed
farm of c. 220 a. (fn. 131) Arable on Middle Chase farm
was, unusually, converted to pasture in the later 20th
century, and in 1984 a flock of 450–500 sheep and a
herd of c. 70 cattle for beef were kept. (fn. 132) Between
1919 and 1948 and from 1972 Bingham's was worked
with Knowle farm in Broad Chalke. (fn. 133) Watercress
beds constructed north of Bingham's Farm in or
before 1890 (fn. 134) remained in use until 1972. Thereafter they were converted for trout farming. (fn. 135)

Woodland 3 leagues long and 1 league broad, part
of Wilton abbey's Chalke estate in 1086, (fn. 136) probably
included that wood in the south part of the parish
called Chettle in the 13th century (fn. 137) and the 16th, (fn. 138)
later part of Chase Woods. In 1567 Chalke manor
included 594 a. of woodland in Bower Chalke; hazel
and oak grew there. (fn. 139) In the 18th century and the
early 19th Chase Woods, which included c. 850 a.
in Bower Chalke, was kept in hand when the rest of
Chalke manor was tenanted. (fn. 140) Some coppice wood
was cut annually in the mid 18th century; 18 a. of
wood in Bower Chalke were cut and sold in 1748–9,
60 a. in 1749–50, and 15 a. in 1775–6. (fn. 141) Some 600 a.
of wood were cleared between 1860 and 1886; Stonedown Wood, c. 270 a. in the parish's south-west
corner, remained. (fn. 142) In 1938 there were hazel coppices, oak, ash, and birch in the wood. Beech, sycamore, and conifers were introduced by the Forestry
Commission after 1939 as part of an experimental
planting programme. (fn. 143)

Local Government.

A gallows, erected for
Wilton abbey at 'Chutelborghe' in the early 16th
century, may have stood east of Cobley Lodge near
the southern parish boundary. In 1518, however, it
was said to be south of the boundary and within
South Damerham manor, which belonged to the
abbey of Glastonbury (Som.). (fn. 144)

Courts and views of frankpledge held for Chalke
manor were attended by the manor's tenants from
Bower Chalke. (fn. 145) Tithingmen for Woodminton and
Bower Chalke were elected at views held in the mid
16th century (fn. 146) and for Upper and Lower tithings of
Bower Chalke from 1727. (fn. 147) The homage of Bower
Chalke presented separately from that of Broad
Chalke in 1632 and at later courts. (fn. 148) Tenants from
Bower Chalke attended courts for Broad Chalke
Rectory manor. (fn. 149)

In the late 18th century the parish was lightly
rated in comparison with some in Chalke hundred.
Between 1775 and 1813, however, annual expenditure on poor relief rose from £84 to £460, a steeper
rise than in neighbouring parishes. The number of
adults receiving permanent or occasional relief had,
however, fallen from 40 in 1802–3 to 31 by 1814–
15. (fn. 150) Thereafter the pattern of expenditure followed
that in other parishes of Chalke hundred. It had
fallen to £256 by 1816, rose steeply before 1820, and
from 1825 until 1830 was between £150 and £250 a
year. (fn. 151) Average annual expenditure was £295 between 1833 and 1835. Bower Chalke became part of
Wilton poor-law union in 1836 (fn. 152) and of Salisbury
district in 1974. (fn. 153)

Church.

Until c. 1300 Bower Chalke may have
been part of a large parish called Chalke, probably
served by Broad Chalke church. (fn. 154) A church was
built at Bower Chalke c. 1300, (fn. 155) and between 1298
and 1307 a vicarage was ordained. (fn. 156) The church was
called a chapel of Broad Chalke in 1312, (fn. 157) and inhabitants of Bower Chalke were buried at Broad
Chalke until 1506. Thereafter they had the right of
burial at Bower Chalke but mortuary fees were reserved to the vicar of Broad Chalke. (fn. 158) Prebendaries
of Chalke presented vicars of Bower Chalke from
1307 until 1440. (fn. 159) The advowson passed with the
prebendal estate to King's College, Cambridge, in
1448–9, (fn. 160) and in 1449 the college appropriated
Bower Chalke church. (fn. 161) The college was patron at
most later vacancies. (fn. 162) With the college's consent the
bishop of Salisbury collated to the vicarage the vicar
of Broad Chalke, who held it in commendam in
1505–6. (fn. 163) The vicarage was again held with Broad
Chalke vicarage from c. 1530 and, in addition, with
Alvediston vicarage from 1584 or earlier. From the
early 17th century the combined living was described as the vicarage of Broad Chalke with Bower
Chalke and Alvediston chapels. (fn. 164) The suggestion
made in 1650 that the living be divided (fn. 165) was apparently not implemented. In 1880 a perpetual curacy
of Bower Chalke was created as a separate living in
the gift of King's College. (fn. 166) Incumbents were
usually called vicars. (fn. 167) The living was reunited with
Broad Chalke vicarage in 1952, (fn. 168) and the parishes
were served by the Chalke Valley group ministry
from 1972. (fn. 169) In 1981 the united benefice became
part of Chalke Valley West benefice. (fn. 170) King's College
was patron of the united benefice from 1952, (fn. 171) and of
Chalke Valley West at the first of every three turns
from 1981. (fn. 172).

In 1535 the clear annual value of Bower Chalke
vicarage was £10, well below the average for a living
in Chalke deanery. (fn. 173) In 1720 Edward Colston and
King's College each gave £100 to augment the Bower
Chalke portion of the combined living, (fn. 174) and by 1728
£200 had been given by Queen Anne's Bounty. (fn. 175) The
benefactions may have been used to buy an estate at
St. Mary Bourne (Hants), from which the incumbent
of the combined benefice received £15 a year in
1782. (fn. 176) No later reference to the estate has been
found.

In the 17th century the incumbent of the combined benefice received from Bower Chalke corn and
hay tithes from the rectorial glebe and all wool and
other small tithes. (fn. 177) In 1842 those tithes were valued
at £100 and replaced by a rent charge. (fn. 178) There was
a vicarage house but no other vicarial glebe at Bower
Chalke in 1671. (fn. 179) The house, in poor repair in
1781, (fn. 180) may have been that described c. 1830 as a
cottage and used by the churchwardens for charitable purposes. (fn. 181)

The income of the combined benefice from Bower
Chalke was transferred to the perpetual curacy of
Bower Chalke in 1880. King's College gave £856 to
endow the new living, and the vicar also received
£50 yearly from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners.
A vicarage house was built south of the church in
1880; (fn. 182) it was sold in 1961. (fn. 183).

From the 1530s Bower Chalke was served by
curates; the absence of the incumbent and the resulting inadequate service of the cure caused complaints. (fn. 184) In 1650, however, curates employed by the
incumbent John Sloper to serve Bower Chalke and
Alvediston chapels were praised for preaching regularly. (fn. 185) Sloper's failure to say divine service twice on
Sundays, for which he was presented in 1662, may
reflect disapproval of the rites of the Restoration
church (fn. 186) or the problems of serving three parishes.
In 1783 a curate served all three parishes; one
weekly service, on Sunday afternoons, was held at
Bower Chalke. Communion was celebrated at four
festivals. (fn. 187) In the 19th century a curate usually lived
in the parish. (fn. 188) The service held on Census Sunday
in 1851 was attended by 240 people, including 75
children. (fn. 189) Rowland Williams, incumbent of the
combined benefice from 1858 to 1870, introduced a
second Sunday service at Bower Chalke. Daily services were also introduced, without success. (fn. 190) In
1864 the average congregation at Sunday services
was 65; additional services at festivals and in Lent
were usually attended by 20 people. Communion
was celebrated still only four times a year. (fn. 191) Edward
Collett, curate of Bower Chalke 1878–80 and vicar
1880–1924, introduced many Anglo-Catholic practices into the parish including, by 1914, daily celebrations of communion. From 1882 until 1922 he
also wrote and printed, on a press in the vicarage
house, a weekly parish newspaper. (fn. 192)

HOLY TRINITY church, so called in the mid
19th century, (fn. 193) is built of ashlar and has a chancel
and a nave with transeptal chapels, south aisle, and
north porch surmounted by a tower with a pyramidal
roof. Although the font is of the 12th century, the
oldest parts of the building are of c. 1300; the transept arches and part of the nave's north wall, including the doorway, survive from a cruciform church,
without aisles, of the later date. In the 15th century
the porch and tower were added, and in the late 15th
century or the early 16th new windows were made
in the transepts. The tower was said to need repair
in 1662. (fn. 194) In 1820 the upper part of it was rebuilt. (fn. 195)
The church, said, with little apparent justification,
to be too small for the congregation in 1864, (fn. 196) was
restored and enlarged in 1865–6 under the direction
of T. H. Wyatt. The south aisle was added, the
tower was heightened, and the chancel and part of
the nave were rebuilt. A west gallery was removed. (fn. 197)

In 1553 a chalice weighing 15 oz. was left in the
parish; 4 oz. of plate were confiscated. The parish
had a silver chalice and vessels of pewter c. 1830, a
paten, acquired in 1866, and a 19th-century chalice,
both silver-plated, in 1891. (fn. 198) The vessels of 1891 had
been replaced by 1959 by a new chalice and paten (fn. 199)
which, with another chalice and paten which may
previously have belonged to Broad Chalke, were
held by the parish in 1984. (fn. 200) There were three bells
in 1553. A 17th-century bell, recast by John Warner
& Sons in 1880, a bell of 1611, by John Wallis, and a
third, of 1899, by Roger Lander, hung in the church
in 1984. (fn. 201) The registers are complete from 1701. (fn. 202)

Nonconformity.

A house in Bower Chalke
was licensed for Presbyterian meetings in 1672. (fn. 203)
There was said to be no dissenter in the parish in
1783, (fn. 204) but a house was licensed for meetings of
Independents in that year. (fn. 205) The Independent congregation in Bower Chalke was served with others
in Broad Chalke and Ebbesborne Wake from 1812
but from 1816 had its own minister. (fn. 206) Meetings may
still have been held in 1824 (fn. 207) but probably ceased
soon afterwards.

In 1851, on the morning of Census Sunday, 54
people attended a Baptist meeting in Bower Chalke. (fn. 208)
A small chapel of red brick was built in 1863–4. (fn. 209) It
was converted to a schoolroom and a larger chapel
built adjoining it in 1897. (fn. 210) The chapel was open in
1984.

Primitive Methodists held an evening service in a
house on Census Sunday in 1851; the claim that it
was attended by 96 people (fn. 211) seems exaggerated. By
1859 a building near the meeting house had been
converted for use as a chapel. Plans were made to
extend the chapel (fn. 212) but in or before 1864 it was
closed. (fn. 213) A Wesleyan Methodist chapel, built in
1879, remained in use until c. 1983. (fn. 214)

Education.

In 1833 there were two day schools
in Bower Chalke, attended by a total of 16 children. (fn. 215)
A National school was built near the church in
1844. (fn. 216) Average attendance was 70 in 1858, (fn. 217) and 50
in 1861. (fn. 218) An additional classroom and a teacher's
house were built in 1870. (fn. 219) From 1898 to 1907
average attendance was between 70 and 80. (fn. 220) By
1914 it had fallen to 56, (fn. 221) and by 1936 to 27. (fn. 222) The
school was closed in 1976; (fn. 223) thereafter children from
Bower Chalke attended Broad Chalke school. (fn. 224)
A few children were taught in a cottage on the
downs west of Middle Chase Farm between 1869
and 1897. (fn. 225)

Charity for the Poor.

At inclosure in 1792
an allotment was made of 10 a. from which poor
parishioners were entitled to take fuel. In the late
19th century the allotment became bare of furze and
was exchanged for another 10 a. (fn. 226) The land was sold
in 1972, (fn. 227) under a Scheme of 1970, and the proceeds
invested. In 1973–4 the income was £344, of which
£210 was spent on food and assistance for needy
parishioners. (fn. 228)